UAE: Economy Ministry Publishes New Policy for Responsible Sourcing of Gold

The UAE’s Ministry of Economy has published the due diligence regulations for responsible sourcing of gold on its website. The regulations have been published in both Arabic and English.

They have published the regulations as part of their ongoing efforts to implement a more robust anti-money laundering and anti-terrorist financing system in the UAE.

It includes various controls and standards for dealers in precious metals and stones.

They were developed in line with the due diligence guidelines issued by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development.

They have been issued to improve the commitment of gold refineries and companies to implement the due diligence measures for responsible sourcing of gold.

This will help protect the interests of companies engaged in pre-manufactured bullion and gold-related activities from sanctions and administrative penalties for non-compliance in line with the Implementing Regulations to Federal Decree-Law No. 20/2018 on anti-money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism and illegal organisations (Cabinet Decision No. 10/2019).

The policy obliges gold refiners to consider the risks of financial crimes when managing their relationships with suppliers and all other supply chain actors and ensuring suitable delivery and compliance.

They have to start to do this by creating and implementing robust governance management systems for the company or establishment in terms of the due diligence for sourcing gold by the company’s board of directors, or its equivalent acquiring the necessary knowledge and expertise or hiring external consultants and experts to establish these systems.

The controlled company or establishment must appoint a compliance officer who is directly accountable to the CEO or the equivalent, has access to the board of directors or equivalent, and is also responsible for the comprehensive management of the due diligence process.

The company must provide a training programme for everyone participating in the process of due diligence for the responsible sourcing of gold and establish a system of transparency, information sharing and control over the gold supply chain.

The company must compel suppliers to comply with the supply chain policies following the regulations, due diligence must be exercised before establishing a new business relationship with the supplier, and care must be taken to ensure continuity in the implementation.

They then have to identify and assess supply chain risk by performing due diligence to identify potential threats, identify risk indicators, including high-risk indicators in the gold supply chain and continuously monitor and report to senior management within the company or establishment.

In addition, they have to design and implement a management strategy to respond to identified risks by setting a risk-monitoring plan and carrying out independent third-party reviews of the refiner’s due diligence practices in line with the audit plan and annual audit principles and standards.

Finally, the controlled company or establishment must submit all supply chain due diligence audit reports annually to the Ministry of Economy. Accredited members working in line with the UAE Good Delivery Standard for Gold must also present accreditation reports to the Ministry annually to adhere to this policy’s reporting commitments.

Controlled companies and establishments have to implement the requirements of the regulation during an audit period from 1 January 2023.

They will also need to conduct a review 12 months after the beginning of the audit cycle and submit reports to the Ministry within 90 days of completing the review cycle.

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UAE: Third Generation of UAE Passport and Advanced Visa System Trial Launched

The UAE’s Federal Authority for Identity, Citizenship, Customs and Port Security has announced it has launched the third generation of the UAE Passport and a trial of the new Advanced Visa System. The changes will come into force on 3 October 2022.

The new system offers multiple facilities, including a renewable five-year Green Residence visa.

There are three types of Green Visas. They are green residency for skilled workers, green residency for the self-employed and green residency for investors or partners in a commercial activity. This last category will not require a guarantor and will be valid for five years. It may be renewed and will replace the investor’s previous residency of two years.

A new Jobseeker Visa will also be introduced. Holders of this visa will be able to come to the UAE without having a sponsor or host to explore work, investment and business opportunities.

It also offers new benefits for Golden Visa holders. These benefits include the ongoing validity of the visa regardless of how much time the holder spends outside the UAE and removing the limit on the number of sponsored domestic labourers. Family members will also be able to stay in the country during the visa’s validity period, even after the holder dies.

The new generation of services has been developed in line with the highest security and technology standards to facilitate customer procedures and accelerate the UAE’s economic and sustainable development drive.

The visa will allow salaried people, self-employed individuals and investors or company partners to have a visa without a sponsor for up to five years. Holders of this visa will also be able to sponsor first-degree relatives.

Additional reporting from Gulf News (United Arab Emirates) on 5 September 2022.

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Abu Dhabi: ADGM Financial Services Regulatory Authority Imposes Penalties on Five Institutions

Albayan, 1 September 2022: The ADGM Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FRSA) has imposed financial and administrative penalties and fees ranging from 30,000 AED to 119,000 AED on five financial institutions.

The five institutions violated the Common Reporting Standard (CRS) regulations, which were brought in in the UAE at the beginning of 2017.

The penalties imposed were for the failure of these institutions (to the extent applicable in each case) to apply appropriate due diligence procedures, keep records of the performance of due diligence, report required information completely and accurately and obtain from their clients a valid and up-to-date certification of their tax information.

For the full story, click here.

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Abu Dhabi: Consumer Dispute Resolution Service Launched

Albayan, 1 September 2022: The Abu Dhabi Business Centre, in cooperation with the Judicial Department, has launched a consumer dispute resolution service.

The aim is to expedite the settlement of disputes between consumers and commercial establishments in Abu Dhabi amicably and at the lowest possible costs for the parties.

The service has been set up to settle and resolve disputes between consumers and commercial establishments within 21 days from the date of the appearance of the two parties before the consumer dispute resolution service’s team.

However, the conciliator may extend the period for an extra 21 days.

The conciliators will be meeting the dispute parties, offer reconciliation and help gain agreement between the parties to reach an amicable solution.

They may seek assistance from experts registered in the Judicial Chamber or experts agreed upon by the litigants to provide technical expertise on the dispute issues.

For the full story, click here.

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Abu Dhabi: Company Fined for Violating Anti-Money Laundering Laws

Mubasher, 30 August 2022: The ADGM Financial Services Regulatory Authority has imposed a fine of 1.3 million AED on Wise Nuqud Ltd (WISE), for violating a number of anti-money laundering requirements.

The Authority found that WISE had not maintained adequate anti-money laundering controls to ensure full compliance with their anti-money laundering obligations.

It was stated that WISE did not verify the source of their funds as part of the enhanced customer due diligence it conducted on a category of clients that were identified as high-risk before undertaking transactions on behalf of these clients. Instead, WISE carried out verification of the source of funds and sources of wealth for these clients when their accounts had met the specified payment threshold.

WISE was required to identify and verify the source of funds (SOF) and the source of wealth (SOW), as part of the Enhanced Customer Due Diligence (EDD) it performed on a category of customers it had identified as high-risk before undertaking transactions on behalf of those customers. Instead, they carried out SOF and SOW checks on those customers only when their account met a specified payment threshold (and after they had already established a business relationship with them).

The firm had also not correctly obtained Senior Management’s approval to establish business relationships with a category of customers that it had identified as high-risk.

The FSRA’s review did not identify any instances of actual money laundering resulting from Wise’s AML systems and control failures. In addition, WISE and its senior management cooperated fully with the FSRA’s enquiries and undertook substantial steps to remediate the issues identified by the FSRA.

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UAE: New SME/Start Up Loan Scheme

Khaleej Times, 29 August 2022: The Emirates Development Bank has announced a new scheme which will allow SMEs and start-ups to apply for loans of up to 5 million AED directly through their Digital Banking App and receive approval or feedback within five days.

The service, is being carried out in partnership with the peer-to-peer (P2P) lending platform Beehive. The service will be available for UAE-based SMEs and start-ups operating in one of the development bank’s five priority sectors. These are manufacturing, healthcare, food security, advanced technology, and infrastructure. These loans will be available on various tenors of up to 60 month.

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Dubai: New Inheritance Court to Open in September

The National, 25 August 2022: A new court dealing with inheritance disputes involving Muslims and non-Muslims of all nationalities will open in Dubai in September 2022.

The news was announced at the Dubai Court of Personal Status.

Claims can be registered online and will first be seen by a preparatory judge who will revise them and attempt to bring an amicable settlement.

Documents not in Arabic must be translated by a legal translation office approved by the Ministry of Justice before being uploaded into the court’s online system.

Suppose the dispute involves a combination of civil, real estate or commercial disputes from one inheritance claim. In that case, the judge will register each as a separate case with different reference numbers. Within 30 days of the registration date, all cases, and the legal opinion of the preparatory judge, will then be referred to a panel of three judges who will make a decision.

The court will have two judicial circuits of three judges each, and each panel will include a judge from the court of the first instance, another from the appeals court and a third from the court of cessation. Some cases, however, may take longer than a year to decide due to the amount of money or assets being disputed.

The court will settle disputes related to wills, inventory lists, liquidation of the estate, division of funds among heirs, expulsion and entry of an heir, and civil, real estate or commercial cases that might arise from an inheritance claim or any other incidental requests.

Judgments by the court will be final and will not be subject to appeal except through a petition for reconsideration.

Before going to court, all debts must have been paid and all wills enacted.

First, the case will be registered at the Dubai Court of Personal Status, and the court will suggest a settlement. If the settlement is not agreed on, the case will be referred to the Court of Inheritance.

A preparatory judge will then revise the claim, trace cash and assets, ensure debts have been paid, handle legal correspondence and register any other cases that may arise from the original inheritance case.

The case is then referred to a panel of judges at the Court of Inheritance.

Settlement is suggested again, but if it is not agreed on, the Court of inheritance will have a hearing, after which a final judgment will be issued.

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UAE: Penalties for Tampering with Digital Evidence Clarified

Gulf News (United Arab Emirates), 16 August 2022: The UAE’s Public Prosecution has clarified the penalties imposed on those who tamper with digital and other types of evidence.

Under Article 18 of Federal Decree-Law No. 34/2021, anyone who operates a website, an account on a computer network, an email or an information system and deliberately conceals or tampers with digital evidence relating to any of the crimes stipulated in the UAE Cybercrime Law to obstruct the work of investigation authorities or other competent authorities will be jailed for at least six months and/or fined at least 200,000 AED.

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Abu Dhabi: Personal Status Court Starts Issuing Bilingual Judgments

Case decisions have started to be issued in the new Abu Dhabi bilingual personal status court for non-Muslims established due to Abu Dhabi Law No. 14/2021. The court will also have bilingual proceedings.

In a case on 21 July 2002, a claimant submitted a divorce application per Articles 6 and 7 of Abu Dhabi Law No. 14/2021.

The parties had been married in the Saint George Maronite Cathedral in Beirut. The claimant requested that the defendant would be required to pay fees and expenses.

The defendant filed a response requesting the application of the Lebanese law and dismissal of the case for nonterritorial jurisdiction. He also stated that his marriage relationship with the claimant was a religious, not a civil relationship.

The claimant’s attorney sustained the divorce request, application of Abu Dhabi Law No. 14/2021 and the defendant’s payment of fees and costs.

The defendant sustained application of the Lebanese Law and requested time to submit it. The court decided to adjourn the case to 19/07/2022 for the defendant to submit a duly attested copy of the law they sought to apply.

However, the duly attested law of their home country was not supplied only by some non-attested laws.

Decision

The court decided to close the case for judgment on 21/07/2022.

As the court had given the defendant a chance to submit the laws of his home country, but he did not, Abu Dhabi Law No. 14/2021 applied.

To effectuate a Divorce, it was sufficient that one of the spouses declared their willingness to separate before the Courtand to end the marital relationship, without the need to justify such a request, prove any damage suffered or blame the other party.

The conditions in Abu Dhabi Law No. 14/2021  had been fulfilled.

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